Even though she had lost almost 100 pounds, Karrie wasn’t entirely serious when she said, “Maybe one day I’ll run a marathon.” Well, she didn’t think she was being serious anyway. Immediately after making this statement people began telling her that she should do it. In fact, everyone who knew her believed she could do it…but Karrie had never ran in any such race. A year ago she couldn’t even run one mile let alone consider running 26.2. She was flattered by the confidence that people had in her, but Karrie had her doubts.

So a simple plan was created, well not so simple for Karrie, after all she was the one who had to do all of the training and running.

The plan was for Karrie to get her feet wet first with a 5K race, and then work her way up through the race distances: a 10K, half-marathon and finally cap it off with a FULL 26.2 mile MARATHON.

As you can imagine, Karrie was full of apprehension. On the morning of her 5K she was a bag-of-nerves and doubt, but she crossed the finish line and she even placed in her age group. Her confidence soared. [CLICK HERE to read Karrie’s full 5K Story]

“I’m addicted,” Karrie said just days after her 5K. “I signed up for the 10K Labor Day Classic in August and the Baltimore Half Marathon in October.”

The 10K…

Karrie was more than ready to tackle her 5K race, and she proved it by crossing the finish line and winning a metal. In fact, her 5K training had her quite prepared for the 10K classic that was up next, which was just a few weeks after her 5K. Her hard work and accomplishments even inspired someone else to join her for her 10K.

“I guess I inspired my 12 year-old daughter (Hannah),” Karrie said. “She is doing the 10K race with me!”

Though Hannah had ran for her school’s cross country team the year before—cross country races are all 5K distances—the 10K was twice as far and it would prove challenging for her as well. But her mom had inspired her and she was ready to put in the work. In fact, due to her mom’s training Hannah gained an interest in working out and cross training to prepare for the 10K. That isn’t to say that there wasn’t the occasional hiccup in Karrie’s and Hannah’s training regimen.

“Waking her up when we were on vacation to train and run was horrible (laughs),” Karrie said.

The day of the 10K race Karrie felt prepared and confident, but there were some things that were quite different and unexpected compared to her 5K experience.

“The 10K had many, many hills and it was very hot that day,” Karrie said. “I felt prepared, but I wasn’t ready for all the hills; the final stretch to finish line was actually all uphill. We ended going up this HUGE hill to cross the finish line…It was very difficult. Still, my goal was to be able to run the whole race without walking, and I did it!”

It was another victory for Karrie, but she only had two months to prepare for her next race, and the mileage was starting to add up. Her next race jumped from the 10K, which is 6.2 miles, to the half marathon distance of 13.1 miles.

The Half Marathon…

Even though she had proven to herself that she could complete the half marathon distance during her training, Karrie was unsettled on day of the race. That morning Karrie’s doubts and uncertainty were getting the best of her. Her nervousness turned to tears and she felt nauseous. She began to talk herself out of doing the race.

“I don’t know if my body can handle it,” she said.

She felt that she may over trained the week before, and that she had not given herself enough time to taper down and recover.

“I ran 15.74 miles the weekend before the race,” Karrie said. “My knees were killing me, I heard this particular half marathon was a hard run, and I had never ran hills like this.”

But she had done the work; she trained properly and her friends and family knew she could make it. With their support Karrie made her way to the starting area.

“I was so nervous walking to the starting corral that I cried twice before I even started running,” Karrie said. “But there was such an electricity in the atmosphere, and all of the runners were charged-up with anticipation…it was contagious.”

The next thing she knew the officials were counting down to the start of the race, and just like that Karrie was off and running in her very first half marathon.

“The people of Baltimore really stepped up…there was not one place along the marathon that someone wasn’t cheering you on,” Karrie said. “They had signs, handed out gummy bears to help us keep our energy up, people were dressed like tigers, and there was even free beer. This continued all along the entire course!”

As Karrie continued to run she left her doubts further and further behind her, and she got into that “zone” that you often hear runners speak about. “I had such a runners high,” Karrie said.

She had overcome tears, nausea, knee pain and…13.1 miles!

“They announced every runner that came across the finish line,” Karrie said. “It was the best feeling when I heard my name as I crossed it…I had RAN the entire race!”

Next up…the BIG race…a FULL MARATHON!

After successfully running a 5K, 10K and half marathon, Karrie’s grand finale is coming up as she begins training for a FULL MARATHON. Follow Karrie’s REAL STORY to find out what happens along the way, and if she crosses the finish line of her the biggest, and longest, race of her life.

To learn how to effortlessly follow Karrie’s story CLICK HERE.

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